Offspring 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		2.5

Offspring 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 21, 2024

Note: This film is available in 4K UHD as part of Arrow's The Woman 4K / Offspring 4K double feature.

The wild and wacky world of licensing deals for various regions for (1080) Blu-ray releases may well have contributed to the fact that those on this side of the pond who (for whatever reason) looked for the two films in this package on disc would have found first an older 1080 release of The Woman put out by the little remembered label The Collective, which was then followed a few years later by Arrow's 1080 release of The Woman. There's only a rather old Lionsgate 1080 Region A release of Offspring. In that regard, Arrow's UK branch offered a 1080 double feature of The Woman and Offspring, which its US division is now bringing out on 4K UHD discs.

As mentioned above, Offspring had a long ago 1080 release courtesy of Lionsgate. Those interested in a plot recap and assessment of that disc's technical merits and supplements are encouraged to read Dustin Somner's Offspring Blu-ray review.

Offspring 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced off of Arrow's standalone Region B 1080 release of the film. Per Arrow's standard operating procedure, there is no 1080 disc in this set.

Offspring is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.78:1. Arrow's insert booklet lumps both films in this package's double feature together on its page devoted to the transfers, as follows:

The Woman and Offspring were both restored in 4K by Moderncine. Both films are presented in their original 1.78:1 aspect ratios with their original 5.1 surround sound mixes.

The original digital intermediate for The Woman was remastered in 4K resolution by the film's editor and post production supervisor Zach Passero. The film was restored and graded in SDR and HDR at Cheeky Monkey Post. All restoration work was supervised and approved by director Lucky McKee.

The original Super 16mm camera negative of Offspring was scanned in 4K on a Lasergraphics ScanStation at Gamma Ray Digital in Boston. The film was restored and graded in SDR and HDR on a Baselight at Filmworkers in Dallas. All restoration work was supervised and approved by director Andrew van den Houten.

Dustin wasn't especially fond of the Lionsgate release's 1080 presentation, but he also didn't mention this is a 16mm outing, which helps to account for the admittedly very heavy grain field that Dustin found to approach noisy levels. This is another outing where I can easily see some ardent videophiles actually preferring Arrow's 1080 presentation to this 4K UHD version simply because the grain is so thick and at times pretty splotchy looking. All of that aside, it's apparent to me that Arrow's version offers considerably improved color timing, along with a somewhat darker overall appearance that I personally think is more natural looking and which probably at least subliminally tends to support the perception of better saturation. There are any number of grading choices, as was also the case with The Woman, including near black and white moments, and some sepia toned scenes, all of which have noticeable new highlights here courtesy of HDR / Dolby Vision. There are still deficits in shadow detail, probably even more so than in the 4K UHD version of The Woman, and the smaller format source along with its attendant heavy grain field can also tend to tamp down fine detail levels in midrange and wider framings.

Offspring 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Offspring features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 options. I'm not sure if there was some kind of problem with the Lionsgate disc based on Dustin's pretty paltry score for that version's audio, but I found the 5.1 rendering on this disc to be perfectly reasonable, with some occasionally impressive LFE and decent if not overwhelming engagement of the surround channels. Dustin is absolutely correct in his assessment that the probably miniscule budget this film had means this doesn't have a "baroque" sound design with a lot of "wow" moments, but I actually found the absence of traditional "startle" effects to be kind of refreshing. Dialogue (along with subtitled "feral speak") is rendered cleanly and clearly. Optional English subtitles are available.

Offspring 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentaries

  Commentary with Andrew van den Houten and Matt McClain

  
  

  Commentary with Andrew van den Houten, Jack Ketchum and William M. Miller

• Pollyanna and Andrew (HD; 14:20) is an interview with the pair.


• Fly on the Wall: Filming Offspring (HD; 42:39) has quite a bit of background and candid footage which will probably appeal to the film's fans.


• Progeny: The Birth of Offspring (HD; 20:46) is an archival piece with cast and crew interviews.


• Meet Jack Ketchum (Extended) (HD; 6:16) is an archival interview.


• Restoration Comparison (HD; 2:50) offers before and after looks at what the 4K transfer did for the appearance of the film.


• Audition to Scene (HD; 1:11) features Andrew Elvis Miller.


• First Stolen's Bailout (HD; 3:10)


• Webisodes (HD; 17:49) offers more online marketing material.


• Archive Easter Eggs

  Cannibal Dance (HD; 00:24)

  
  

  Kid Cannibal (HD; 1:13)

  
  

  Prowler Stick (HD; 00:41)

• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:03)


• Image Gallery (HD; 12:50)

Offspring 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is another release where the supplemental material may provide more lasting interest than the actual film. This new 4K UHD version offers what to my eyes seems a better accounting of the film's palette, though the increased resolution of this format means that the 16mm source can be very grainy a lot of the time. Technical merits are generally solid, and the supplements outstanding, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.